http://www.newsandevents.warwick.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=pressrelease&id=653
Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick have applied data analysis methods used to model stock market fluctuations, to explore changes in the solar wind (the sun’s expanding atmosphere). They have discovered that the fluctuations in the solar wind follow the same kinds of patterns seen in the stock markets – particularly when it comes to the number of extreme events or large fluctuations.
The researchers led by Professor Sandra Chapman at the University of Warwick, used “finite size scaling” to look at the probability of fluctuations or jumps in magnetic energy density in the solar wind, using data from the NASA-WIND spacecraft. They found that the solar wind fluctuations had a much higher probability of extreme events than for more familiar random processes (which follow a Gaussian or bell shaped curve). In fact statistically, the solar wind fluctuations are similar to those found previously for fluctuations in stock market indices. Large fluctuations in the solar wind affect our local ‘space weather’. Predicting these is as challenging as predicting large changes in stock prices. As this work suggests that the underlying mathematics is similar we can apply knowledge from one area to understand the other.
Full Release at: http://www.newsandevents.warwick.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=pressrelease&id=653
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